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Friday, 17 January 2014

The Cow and The Komedia

Who says mid week evenings need to be a night at home, in you’re pyjamas, eating biscuits (we’ve all been guilty)? When you have nothing to do, just head down to your local cinema and catch that film you’ve been meaning to watch. Wednesday night, Marcus and I decided to eat somewhere we’d never eaten at before and go to the Duke of York cinema that I’d never been to before.

We stumbled upon The Cow pub in the heart of the Seven Dials in Brighton. The restaurant we had planned to go to turned out to be closed on Wednesdays so, running for shelter from the pouring rain and in desperation for food, we jumped into the closest door we could find. From the outside the candle lit tables gleamed; nothing seemed more appealing than some comfort food under candle light while watching the rain tumble down the windows outside.

Thank you rain and thank you ‘other restaurant’ for being closed on Wednesdays because I’m so happy we found this gem of a place!

I ordered risotto with wild mushrooms and a poached egg on top. I wasn’t expecting much because I often find risottos are rather bland but I was so wrong. It was the best risotto I have ever had – even Marcus liked it and he is usually repulsed by mushrooms! It’s worth visiting The Cow just for the risotto!

The burger was just as good…

If you are ever in the area and pop into this place make sure you take a trip to the bathrooms upstairs. Strange suggestion, I know, but I was drawn into a bit of a trance looking at the many pictures on the walls upstairs.

Then it was time to head to the iconic Duke of York cinema at Preston Circus. You know you’re at the right place when you see the ladies legs in stripy stockings hanging off the side of the building!

I was so excited to finally watch a film here but just as we got to the front of the queue there was an announcement:

“All tickets to 12 Years a Slave have been sold!”

No! Not only was I excited about being in this cinema for the first time but I had also been looking forward to seeing the film all day! Disappointed and frustrated, we sulked back to the car where we came up with the idea to quickly go to Dukes At Komedia, a cinema owned by the same company, Picturehouse, not too far away in town where American Hustle was playing.

Again, you can spot the ladies legs in stripy stockings and know you’re at the right cinema.

The Duke of York cinema and Dukes At Komedia are both independent cinemas and you can really tell the difference from the usual big name cinemas. Both have bars serving food and alcohol that you can take straight through to watch your film. I took in a peppermint tea, making me feel right at home. Most of the screen rooms have double sofas that you can book. I’ve never been quite quick enough to get tickets for them but I always get so jealous of the people snuggled up on them with their popcorn.

The film by the way was great. A trip back to Duke of York is definitely needed though especially while they’re showing 12 Years a Slave.